1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shelving and storage space suitable for use in refrigerators. More specifically, some embodiments of the invention relate to refrigeration shelving and storage space that may be rotatable, removable, easily installable, or cleanable. Some embodiments may also include structures for supporting such shelving and storage space and may provide more convenient access to items stored thereon or improved temperature distribution.
2. Background
Traditional shelving used in conventional refrigerators is static, with such shelving and storage space generally shaped into squares or rectangles designed to follow the outer dimensions of the refrigerator. This configuration of square or rectangular fixed shelving may appear to maximize storage space within the refrigerator.
Traditional refrigerators include a refrigeration compartment located at the front of the refrigerator and accessible through a door. They also include another space, separate from the refrigeration space, which contains the mechanical components necessary to generate the refrigerated air that maintains the required cool temperature in the refrigeration compartment. This space for the mechanical components is typically rectangular and occupies most of the rear portion of the refrigerator. In some refrigerators, this space may occupy the entire rear three to four inches of the refrigerator. The refrigeration space is also typically rectangular or square, and generally contains rectangular or square shelving and/or drawers dispersed throughout. This arrangement has typically been viewed as maximizing the internal storage space of the refrigerator.
This fixed storage arrangement may, however, lead to several undesirable effects. Items stored on fixed shelving are continuously pushed towards the rear of the refrigerator as additional items are added to the shelf before the original items are removed or used. Thus, over time, the items first placed onto the shelf become inaccessible because the items placed in front of them block access. Further, not only may it be difficult to access the items that have been pushed towards the rear of the shelf, it may also be difficult to even visually see those items. The items pushed towards the rear of the shelf may become visually blocked by both the items placed in front of them and by the other shelves or structures of the refrigerator itself, especially when viewed from an angle above the shelf, as may be typical of a user standing in front of a refrigerator.
Often, this lack of visibility and/or accessibility leads to such items being forgotten about by the user. Because many items stored in a refrigerator are food items with limited shelf life, forgotten items have a greatly increased risk of expiring before being used.
Additionally, food items that have been pushed to the rear of a static shelf, and that have consequently become hard to see and access, and that have expired, may create undesirable odors within the refrigerator. The expired food items may also create increased health risks associated with bacterial growth.
Another disadvantage to the conventional static shelving used in traditional refrigerators results from the imperfect temperature distribution within refrigerators. Traditional refrigerators likely include fixed cooling vents located at the rear of the refrigerator. The fixed nature of these vents causes an unequal temperature distribution within the refrigerator, where temperatures are likely colder closer to the vents and warmer farther from the vents.
Thus, in a traditional refrigerator containing static shelving, items placed closer to the vents are stored at a colder temperature than items stored farther from the vents. The foods stored at the colder temperatures are more likely to freeze, which may be undesirable, while the foods stored at the warmer temperatures may be more likely to spoil, which also may be undesirable.
The static nature of traditional refrigerator shelving exacerbates this problem because the stored items, once placed on the shelf are subject to whichever temperature zone they happen to occupy, either warmer or colder. Further, the shelving itself creates a static obstacle that obstructs the cold air coming into the refrigeration compartments from the vents from easily mixing with the air already inside the refrigeration space, leading to increased variance in temperature throughout the refrigerator.